King Still King?

Come Monday, we will observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, in memory of one of the greatest civil rights activists, a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism. A prominent figure in the African American civil rights movement, he led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and in 1964, was the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He devoted his whole life, which ended in assassination, to end racial discrimination and segregation. All for what?

One thing a human being cannot avoid is being biased. Even though no one admits to it today, we are still racist/discriminating in some way. We hold stereotypes against others, and even ourselves. ("You're Asian, why didn't you get a 100 on that test?" or "That was some Indian dude driving that taxi.") We joke around, I joke around, but after all the laughter has died down, I can't help but feel a little... hurt? Offended? Annoyed? We don't mean to, but we discriminate, and that's that. Furthermore, we'd like to believe that America is the boiling pot, a welcoming place for immigrants. But I'd always thought this pot was just a little too hot--be prepared to be scalded at any moment. 

[Jiayin's life story] I myself am an immigrant. Not second generation, not first. I migrated here along with my parents, from China to Japan, and then to the US. My story isn't unique at all--in some ways it doesn't differ from the Mexicans' or the Filipinos'. My parents had great jobs in China, truthfully speaking. We didn't emigrate for economic reasons, they emigrated for my future. Not only are we not as well-off as we would've been if we stayed in China, in the so-called melting pot, we are being looked down on. You can't prove that they don't like you because you're foreign, but it's just a feeling that you get. My parents don't speak the best English, and have gone through plenty of uncomfortable situations because all people did was look down on them, and never genuinely tried to help them. As for me, maybe it was because I was the new kid in first grade, but I think primarily because I couldn't speak English, a bunch of kids in first grade decided to steal my color pencils every. single. day. (I shall refrain from mentioning the race.) I had to take them back every single day, and what could I do? I didn't even know what came first: A or B or C? I didn't know Chinese, and who in the world spoke Japanese in Bridgeport?  [/Jiayin's life story]

Apart from a sort of social discrimination, I'd like to generalize by mentioning immigration laws. I'm not talking about the Mexican-US border laws and the Whatever-whatever Act granting citizenship to illegal Mexican children. (It bugs me that no one knows much about immigration outside of Mexicans.) Anyways, as immigrants, you come with a visa status, and if you want to stay, you have to apply for visa status changes, and then ultimately, your Green Card, making you a permanent alien resident. Because we are Chinese (or Asian, whichever), we have to wait a very long time for our Green Card (as well as forms that have to be approved of in between--currently it is backed up in 2005). Whereas other races (minorities) don't have to wait in line like we Chinese people and Indians do. I understand that they do this because there are lots of us, but it doesn't make sense to me. Not only is it backed up to 2005, sometimes they backtrack further. And along the way, they reject many, many Green Card applications. Once your visa runs out, you have to leave. However, I don't want to say anything more about this, because I am "only a kid" and I can only know so much about all this legal schnazz.

But Why? Isn't it obvious they are trying to draw the line? They are rejecting many applications and backing up the line such that if the forms don't approve in time of the visas, people will have to leave. If we are all equal, why do we have to go through so much trouble? Why do people who are born here get automatic citizenship? How can it be that easy? And ultimately (though unreasonable as this question is) why don't they just force all the African Americans back to Africa? 

I'm just upset that here, we have a bunch of corrupt CEOs playing games with the market, while the US Immigration Department goes through Chinese applications based on how much this person will contribute to the country. We as immigrants have to go through a sort of social injustice (and social trauma in my case--do you know how much I love those color pencils?) in this so-called melting pot where immigrants get to start over and live a better life. I don't understand why we are so bent upon differentiating ourselves. (In the words of Mr. Wallace, "Chinese people can't differentiate their /l/'s and /r/'s!") Is feeling superior necessary?

We are not all equal, and it bugs me. It bugs me a lot.